It was close to a year ago that I shared a blog post on Google’s Project Loon. While it was still in the planning stages at the time, by all accounts, thousands of Loon balloons will soon be doing the job of delivering Internet backhaul services to remote regions from the sky.
The folks at Google say that many balloons will be needed to provide LTE access in areas that are currently unserved by land-based networks. Right now trials are underway in Australia, Latin America, and New Zealand. These balloons operate at a much higher altitude than passenger jet planes, and can stay aloft for up to 100-180 days at a time.
There’s a terrific video that fills you in on the project and what’s involved. And while Google isn’t saying when the commercial rollout will take place, one thing that has been decided is that the Loon service will be offered through existing commercial providers.
https://youtu.be/HOndhtfIXSY
This is pretty exciting stuff for industry players at large. If all goes according to plan, there won’t be any corner of the world that won’t have access to LTE services. And of course, we’re always at the ready with CEL-FI innovations to make sure that indoor signals can stay strong and prosper, whether they come from the land or the sky.
Have you been following Project Loon? Do you know someone who would benefit from it?
By Werner Sievers, CEO